Episode 34: Presence
Honoka kept holding my sleeve and leaned in against me, quietly.
Under the desk, her fingers traced slowly back and forth over my hand.
I couldn’t say I was entirely unaware of the eyes around us, but I couldn’t bring myself to push Honoka away.
If anything, there was some part of me that felt oddly at ease, being allowed to be depended on like this.
(Honoka… she really has changed, hasn’t she.)
Until now, it was always me clinging to her side.
Having Honoka close the distance like this now felt strange, somehow.
— But more than that, it made me happy.
Because I could feel, plainly, that she wanted me.
“…Honoka, lunch is almost over.”
Even when I said it, she didn’t pull away right away.
“Just a little longer…”
She murmured it quietly, and gripped my hand tight.
There seemed to be more strength in it than usual, and I found myself glancing at her profile.
— That was when it happened.
“Yuna-chan, got a minute?”
A quiet voice, but a clear one.
I turned toward it.
Somehow, without my noticing, Shiori had come to stand right beside me.
“…Shiori?”
A little surprised, I said her name, and she smiled gently.
But her eyes carried something searching in them, fixed on where my hand and Honoka’s were joined.
“Lunch is almost over, and I wanted to talk for a bit before it does… is that okay?”
Her tone was soft, but the words carried an atmosphere that made it hard to refuse.
“…Sure, that’s fine.”
I started to answer —
“…Yuna, are you going?”
Beside me, Honoka’s voice went faintly stiff.
I could feel the fingers gripping my sleeve tighten just a little more.
“Yeah, just for a bit.”
Even after I answered, Honoka kept her eyes lowered, unhappy.
Even so, she didn’t try to hold me back by force.
“I’ll be right back.”
I said it and gently loosened my hand from Honoka’s.
Before turning toward Shiori, I stole a glance at her expression.
Honoka was biting her lip faintly, as if enduring something.
─────
Walking down the corridor, soft light filtered in through the windows, lighting the floor gently.
Beside me, Shiori walked with an easy, unhurried step, her usual calm smile in place.
“…So, what did you want to talk about?”
When I asked, Shiori’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“No, it’s nothing important. I was just thinking about how fun that day off was.”
“…Eh?”
For a moment I didn’t understand what she meant, and nearly stopped walking.
But Shiori kept walking, and went on lightly.
“We went to the aquarium together, didn’t we, Yuna-chan?”
“Oh… right…”
The memory of the aquarium with Shiori surfaced in my mind.
Back then, I’d only just put distance between myself and Honoka, and I’d felt so lonely that I went along when she invited me.
“That was fun, wasn’t it.”
Shiori said it, deliberately letting the words carry something underneath them.
“You remember me feeding you at the aquarium, right?”
“…!”
For a moment, the words caught in my throat.
I didn’t even need to try to remember — the scene from that day rose up in my mind on its own.
But more than that — I felt something like a gaze on me, and a faint stiffness ran down my spine.
(…Am I imagining it?)
I glanced casually around us.
But there was no one there.
“And then… we bought matching penguin plushies too, didn’t we?”
Shiori laughed, sounding pleased.
“You were so cute, Yuna-chan, hesitating a bit before you bought it.”
The strange sense of presence still hadn’t faded.
(…What is this.)
I hadn’t actually seen anything.
But it didn’t feel like I could dismiss it as simply my imagination.
“…If that’s all you wanted to say, I’m heading back.”
I cut the conversation off, a little forcefully, and Shiori just laughed lightly and nodded. “Sure.”
“Thanks. See you later, then.”
Shiori waved, and I gave a small nod in return and started walking.
But somewhere in my heart, an uneasy, unsettled feeling remained.
(…What was that about.)
Without an answer, I made my way back to the classroom.